Reference no: EM133320154

E-Z Open Manufacturing's organization structure is straight out of the 1950s. The president is the senior executive, and he has a secretary and five department heads reporting to him. The departments are product development, manufacturing, finance, marketing, and human resources. Each is headed by a vice president (VP). Quality assurance is headed by a manager who reports to the manufacturing VP. The VP of product development has 35 people working on designs for a new family of small kitchen appliances, which the company hopes will render the firm immune to the dreaded can opener demand cycle. Manufacturing is aware of the new-product development effort and is concerned that it might face problems getting these products into production. Finance figures that the company cannot build mixers with the tools used for making can openers but has no clue as to the investment size. Meanwhile, marketing, gleeful that it will soon have something new to sell, keeps sending ideas for still more new products into product development. Quality assurance is totally occupied inspecting can openers and is out of the loop for the new products. You have gotten a sense for this, and you think the infrastructure is an impediment to the growth the firm is anticipating. What would you have the company do?